Day: July 29, 2008

Five Ways to Increase Email Productivity!

Paul

As time goes by there are always going to be problems with having Email and being productive.  You can have so much stuff going on in one day it’s not even possible to really have time to thoroughly check your email.  So here are some great steps to get some of your emails done with!!

[ad]

  1. Empty your InBox — If you don’t have control over your inbox maybe it is time to make sure it’s empty or at least all read!!  It’s true most of the time I don’t read all my emails, I pick and choose what I want to read.  After that, I decide to make all post marked at read!!  I call it the Panic button!!

  2. Organize your Inbox — Having been signed up for several different email groups.  I’ve got it all organized.  I’ve got a folder setup and used for each group.  I then create a mail filter for each group and have it put it there, unless it’s spam then I have it go into the spam folder!! (also see Email Filtering)

  3. Check your Email on Off peak Hours — Not having a lot of time can sometimes create a need to check your email in the morning or afternoon.  I rarely check it during the day.  So I get all my emailing done either in the morning or late night! As long as you keep in mind not to waste time with the emails.  You can get done with most of your emails in under an hour, unless you get more than 1000 a day, then it’s a different story.

  4. Automate Repetitive Emails —  Having been getting the same emails over and over that aren’t spam.  I’ve got a filter in place to automaticly send out a response to the sender and say I’ve seen the problem and am fixing the problem ASAP.  You too can do that with your emails system.  If you have something that can be automated do it.  It can save you time and money in the long run!!

  5. Unclutter your Email system — Yes that is right to much clutter slows down your chances of getting done with what you need to get done with.  I have done it and it greatly increased my speed in my emails.  Having been email for the past several years I find it essential to keep my email uncluttered!!

[ad]

Although, All of these are lifehacker recommendations. I found the most important ones that I have intrigrated into my email performance and I thought I share them with you. I hope these help you in the long run. If you got a tip you would like to share by all means leave a comment!!

Understanding Hulu!

Paul

So I’ve had so many people tell me.  I’m wrong on some of these ones I say are coming out.  Just like last week the tiny URL was going to Dick Van Dyke Season 3 and they  replace it with the Facts of Life.  They used the Tiny URL system to give us hints.  Anyways, back to the topic at hand. <See July 14-19 Post>

This is all speculation and theories,  Read end of post for more details!!

[ad]

Why does Hulu promise one thing and do another?

It’s really not Hulu’s Fault, They have a lot of things going on at one time.  You see when they give use a week of clues, they have made Tentative Agreements, sometimes it’s a written agreement with a clause.  They have a clause? Well let’s put this in terms you can understand.  If there is any reason from either the publisher, or Hulu, they can’t or won’t publish the movie or show.

What does this mean and how does this affect the clues?

Having these agreements they have a duty and a right to keep the publisher happy.  If you don’t keep the publisher happy, they won’t keep there stuff on Hulu.  Hulu will start to loose publishers.  This is why it is so CRUCIAL that they keep the publishers happy.  They have to worry about the quality and how they present it with the ads to keep the publisher happy.  This isn’t always easy because sometimes in the process of getting the video on HULU there’s flaws in the video or something is wrong with the video.

Like any data on a hard drive, you can get bad sectors to prevent a video from showing up right.  It can also be the case that sometimes the ads for the shows are not showing up or some other small problems on the videos.

How can I support what Hulu is doing with the videos?

That’s easy, make comments in the Hulu blog praising Hulu’s hard work.  Also make sure to praise the publisher too because they have to composite and transcode the video for Hulu.

What? Hulu does not do this?

Well in most cases, No!  Hulu has to worry about Copyrights, so they let the publisher do this.  This is speculation but I am sure this is a plausible reason.  The publisher does all this to make sure they have total control and so no unauthorized copies of the publisher gets out.

[ad]

So what does Hulu do?

In most cases, puts the file on there server and does some preliminary tests to make sure all is well with video.  I am guessing they get a DVD or CD copy of the publisher’s work.  This is for backup purposes, in case there is a failure in the server.  In the end, they only handle the end product like a Television studio.   They put it on the server and let it roll.

How do you know about this?

I don’t, This is all speculation and theories.  I don’t work for Hulu, or any of the publisher.  I do know how they think and act. All of what I’v said is my own work and what I believe is going on at Hulu.  I’ve not even talked to them about this because I understand how hard it is for them to talk to anyone.  They’d have a problem talking about this because they’d be worry about the publisher.  I am sure they are always going to worry.  The publisher is the one calling the shots.  They have the Right’s to do whatever they want with the video because when it comes down to it. They are the Boss.  I’m sure someone is going to tell me I’ve either dead wrong or on the Mark.  Either way, I’d like to hear how they do this myself.  I’d like to have an active conversation with them and find out all the facts, nothing but the facts!!

[ad]